Translations
Modern
When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I answered, ‘Here I am!’
Traditional
And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.
Literal
And he looked behind him, and he saw me and called to me, and I answered, ‘Behold.’
Latin
…et conversus post tergum suum, vidensque me, vocavit. Cui cum respondissem: Adsum:
Original
Hebrew
English
When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I answered, ‘Here I am!’
Notes
An unnamed Amalekite went to David, claiming that he had killed Saul. This claim was false. Saul had taken his own life(1 Samuel 31:4–6).
The Amalekite may have hoped that David would reward him for clearing the way for David to become king. Instead, David ordered him to be killed for harming the Lord’s anointed (the person God had chosen).
The forty years of Saul’s reign ended in tragedy. The Philistines struck a devastating blow against his people. They killed Saul’s sons and later mutilated Saul’s body after he took his own life (1 Samuel 31). After these tragic events, the story begins to focus on David and his rise as a leader.
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